When Lines are Crossed
by JohnLennonXOXO
Summary: Classic "Treasure Planet told with a love interest". Here, he meets Skye who is part of Silver's crew. Unwillingly, she follows with a plan to get closer to Jim to find out about Treasure Planet. She and Jim travel through the universe, chasing dreams of more than just Flint's treasure. Together, they learn the difference between independence and loneliness. (rated M later?)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! So here is my story, but before I begin, I just want to start off with a quick introduction (for some reason, I feel like I need to explain myself). Look, I know that this retold story of ****Treasure Planet**** with a love interest for Jim is basically a "did that, done that", but I still really think you'll enjoy this! I love ****Treasure Planet**** and I love the fact that there is a focus on a father-son relationship rather than a romance because it makes the film that much more unique to most other Disney movies. So why am I writing a romance if I like the movie the way it is? To be honest, I just have a cool idea and I would like to write it for others hopefully to enjoy. I want to keep in the building relationship between Jim and Silver as much as I can as well as keep my OCs surrounded by the original characters and have them all respond true to their character (except maybe slightly more on an adult content level because this story is obviously not directed to a younger audience). Also, I'm not so sure how old Jim is supposed to be in the movie, but in this story, he's 18, okay? Other than that, I'm going to keep as true to the original storyline as possible because I love it so much, and add my own characters and some extra twists. I'm so excited to write this and I hope you guys are just as excited to read it!**

**Just to let you know, I'm going to start with Jim and Delbert boarding the **_**RLS Legacy**_** because basically everything before that is the same in this story and, no offense, but I'm not going to rewrite what is already there in the film word for word (I hope you understand). Without any more painful introductions, here we go!**

A new day claimed its place in Jim Hawkins's life as the planet's single star filtered through his window, sparking an instantaneous adrenaline rush in him that contrasted with its gentle rays. He scratched the side of his head where his messy brown hair met his skin in knots, then began rubbing his wide blue eyes and released a deep yawn that was replaced with a relieved smile that rarely made an appearance on his shadowed face. He let the blissful smile transform into a fearless grin as he donned his clothing and grabbed his bag. Today meant an opportunity to redeem himself- to finally make everything okay and to finally make something of himself. Today he begins his quest to find the legendary world that haunted his dreams as a child- Treasure Planet.

His mother Sarah was downstairs, sitting at her old friend's wooden table with her head in her hand. After her house was burnt down by intruding pirates, her best friend, Dr. Delbert Doppler, welcomed her and her son Jim to stay in his home. Her anxiety heightened as she heard her only son's thudding footsteps speeding down the steps. She prepared herself over and over again for this day, but nothing could prevent the bags beneath her blue hooded eyes, swollen from worry and lack of sleep.

"Good morning Mom," Jim said softly and tentative.

Sarah lifted her head up, turned around, and brushed her long brown hair out of her face to reveal a weak smile.

"Good morning Jim," she finally replied as she stood up from the table and walked towards him.

"I'm, uh, all packed," Jim said looking back and forth between the floor and his mother's face.

Sarah crossed her arms. "Did you remember a tooth brush?"

"Yes," he responded looking up at her.

"Extra clothes?" she went on.

"Yes," he sighed, rolling his eyes.

"The map?"

"Yeah mom, got that too," he said in a vexed tone.

"Do you have-"

"Mom! Calm down," he chuckled. "I have everything covered. You don't have to worry," he smiled.

Sarah's bottom lip quivered and she grabbed her son into her thin arms.

"Mom, I'm going to be fine," he quietly assured her.

"Just please be safe," she sighed worriedly into his ear as she squeezed her eyes and allowed a single tear to fall down her cheek.

"I'm going to make everything right," he comforted her.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Sarah asked, breaking their embrace, but keeping both hands on his shoulders. "It's not too late to change your mind," secretly knowing that he wouldn't.

"I've never been surer of anything," he smiled as enthusiasm flooded his eyes.

Sarah saw the sparks in his eyes and smiled to herself. She was worried for his safety, but had to admit that she enjoyed the excitement in his features. It has been years since she's seen anything close on Jim's face. His teenage years came as a shock to her. As a young boy, he was vivacious and imaginative; now as a young adult, he was withdrawn and unmotivated. This trip was her last hope to win her beloved son back.

"I love you so much James," she pulled him back into a hug.

Jim smiled and wrapped his arms around his mother, "I love you too Mom and when I come back, I'll make up for everything I've done."

Sarah's only response was a tighter squeeze.

"Hello? Jim? Sarah?" called an overly enthusiastic voice.

"Mom, you've got to let go," Jim laughed. "Delbert is ready to leave."

Sarah sighed and let go "We're in here Delbert. We were just saying goodbye," her voice cracking slightly.

"Yes, well, Jim are you all packed?" asked Dr. Delbert Doppler, stepping inside of his kitchen.

"Sure am," Jim replied, slightly lifting his bag that was slung over his shoulder.

"Wonderful! I have the carriage right outside that will promptly take us to a ship that will take us to the spaceport!" he shouted which made his circular glasses slide down his large nose.

Jim smiled and looked at his mother before loading his bag onto the cart.

"Goodbye Mom. I'll be back home before you can even miss me," he chuckled to lighten the mood.

"You know Sarah, we will be back before you know it! Improving space traveling technology, newer jets, and navigation equipment have cut voyage time by nearly 20%!" Delbert rambled.

Sarah rolled her eyes and shook her head, but kept a smile. To be honest, she was going to miss her dear friend's habit of giving excessive information on almost irrelevant subject matter. Jim hugged his mother one last time and ran outside to put his stuff in the carriage.

"_You _Dr. Doppler better keep an eye on my son," Sarah crossed her arms and leaned into one leg with a smirk on her face.

Delbert chuckled, "No need to worry Sarah! By the end of this trip Jim and I will be best duds- I- I mean buds! The best of buds- I mean the best of ends- _friends_! … We'll bond wonderfully," he finally gave up.

"Just get back in one piece," she giggled, shaking her head.

"There's nothing to fear Sarah. I will bring your son back- the son that you remember," he smiled sweetly at her and pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you Delbert," she sighed when they parted.

"Thank _you _for watching over my house while we're gone!" Delbert added gratefully.

"Do I have much of a choice," Sarah laughed, shaking her head.

"We'll be back soon," he smiled reassuringly and sincerely before walking out of his home.

Sarah slowly followed behind him and leaned on the door frame as she watched Delbert and Jim ride away, keeping her eyes glued to her son as if capturing a last image of his face before she couldn't see him anymore. As the features of the carriage became smaller and Jim's face became fuzzier, she sighed deeply and went back inside. She closed the door behind her and began to silently cry, thinking of her son and hoping that he would return home safely. She peered into Delbert's empty house and began her first day of many alone.

Jim and Delbert sat in the carriage with the excitement of running horses in their stomachs. Jim sat at the edge of the bench in anticipation, never taking his eyes off of the glowing spaceport in the sky. Dr. Doppler on the other hand, was talking rapidly and over enthusiastically, even stuttering every now and again. Jim's adrenaline helped him drown out his prattle as he imagined what this adventure was going to be like.

"Jim? Jim, can you hear me?" Delbert asked, looking at Jim concerned.

"Huh? Uh, what did you say?" Jim asked almost a little embarrassed.

"I asked how you are feeling. I was wondering if you were excited," he explained.

"Oh yeah, I'm so excited," Jim smiled weakly.

"You know Jim, I think this is a wonderful opportunity for you to turn things around for yourself. This will really give you the chance to work with others- oh just wait for when you meet the crew- and learn responsibility as you work on the ship- I can't wait to see the ship- and don't forget that you can really accomplish some-"

"Yes, can't wait," Jim cut him off and crossing his arms with a hint of a pout on his face.

"Uhm, yes, very well then. Say, Jim! What do you know about the mechanisms and workings of ships?" asked Delbert trying to make what he thought was casual conversation.

"Why did you pack so much stuff?" asked Jim, clearly annoyed and ignoring his question all together.  
"Well, you see, I needed all of my navigation equipment, my bedding, my space suite, my books on mapping through the universe- these are all very essential things for this voyage Jim," he replied very seriously.

"I guess I under packed," he gave in, sitting back and looking above him in exasperation.

"That's quit all right Jim! You are more than welcome to borrow my stuff at any point… Except, of course, my tooth brush or extra pair of glasses," Delbert continued to ramble as Jim drifted away again into his own fantasy world.

The rest of the carriage ride wasn't long, but Jim kept to himself and in his own head while Delbert spoke allowed of his internal fire of excitement. They boarded the connecting ship that took them from Montressor to the space port, making their blood race just a little faster as they got closer and closer to the adventure of a lifetime.

When the space port's details began to sharpen as they got closer, Jim's eyes widened and a smile pulled at nearly every muscle in his eager face. From the intensity of the port's glow, he could see large buildings towering over smaller ones and mammoth ships zooming in and out of the separate ports. There were hundreds of pieces of machinery that loaded and unloaded items of export and import. From Jim's limited view, he could see countless dots of creatures running from port to port carrying equipment and luggage. The roaring of jets and the commotion of hurried conversations flooded his ears. This was just as exhilarating as Jim imagined as a child.

"Hold on one moment Jim, I have to quickly change," Dr. Doppler called as they unloaded their bags, marring Jim's thoughts.

Jim nodded silently and sat down at a bench just outside of their arrival point. His thoughts swam with the idea of becoming the ship's first mate and charting unexplored pieces of space. All of that was cut short when his old family friend stepped in front of him.

To Jim's horror and embarrassment, Delbert stood in front of him with a bulky, metal suit covering him from a helmet on his head, to oversized boots on his feet. The creaking and clocking from the contraption didn't cease even when standing still. The suit made the naturally scrawny doctor look four times his size except for his tiny legs that had skin tight fabric over them. The entire outfit was unnecessary and ridiculous to say the least. What made it worse was the amount of baggage that was thrown over his back; as if the suit needed any help making more obnoxious noises.

Jim couldn't help but gawk at the sight in front of him. He attempted to utter some sort of plea for mercy, but nothing found its way out. Jim quickly looked to the left and to the right of him and already saw a couple of creatures staring. Without any verbal communication to his companion, Jim began walking away and tried to keep a long distance between the two of them.

Delbert followed Jim to the best of his ability, but even that was hindered due to the weight of his suit and luggage. He wondered why Jim was traveling so far ahead of him, but figured it was just because he was too excited to wait for him to catch up.

"Jim! Oh Jim! Wait for me!" Delbert called to him after a while of him trailing significantly behind.

Jim let out an exasperated sigh, but waited for him to catch up. Hearing the strange sounds coming from his suit made Jim breathily chuckle and shake his head.

Delbert looked around for a moment before opening the glass part of his helmet to speak to Jim. "Well Jim this could be a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know one another! You know what they say: 'familiarity breeds… well… contempt,'" he said disappointed at the awkwardness he tried desperately to avoid. "But in our case-"

"Look, let's just… find the ship, okay?" Jim suggested, trying to pull his way out of this discomfort as quickly as possible.

Delbert stood silently for a moment and wore a face of heartbreak as Jim walked ahead, asking for directions. He wanted to get to know the boy better, but knew that breaking down Jim's walls was going to be exhausting and full of rejection. He had to admit that his own incapability to really communicate to anyone at all probably wasn't helping either.

"Second berth on your right," Delbert heard a robot on the top of a ladder speaking to Jim who was looking up at him.

"Can't miss it," said an orange, furry, short creature on the bottom of the ladder in a deep, raspy voice.

"Thanks guys," Jim thanked them and began descending the stairs without even looking back at Delbert.

Dr. Doppler tried again for conversation "It's the suit isn't it?" he confessed.

Jim rolled his eyes and continued walking down the stairs.

"I should have never listened to that pushy, two-headed sales woman. This one said it fit! That one said it was my color! I didn't know what to do! I get so flustered-" his ramble was cut off when he bumped into Jim who glared back at him, clearly not listening.

Delbert was about to make a desperate apology, but he suddenly saw their ship.

"Oh!" he shouted in a spark of adrenaline. "This is our ship! The _RLS Legacy_!" he held out his arm to present the wonderful ship that was making its way to the port.

Jim looked up in awe. The ship was beautiful and so much larger than he imagined. His eyes searched widely as they zipped back and forth from the bow to the stern and through everything in between. The smile returned to his face and caused his pressed eyebrows to have a moment to relax.

"Whoa," he said in awe as he examined the extravagance in front of him, floating in the sky.

"Oh Jim! Right up here," called Delbert, already at the bottom of the stairs to the ship.

Jim's smile was almost radiant enough to wipe away the shadows in his face. He ran toward the stairs where Delbert waited for him and began to climb upward. As he neared the top deck, he saw various species rushing throughout the ship, shouting orders and complaints while preparing the _RLS Legacy_ for takeoff.

After finally making it to the top, Jim took a better look around him and then spun around to look at how high up they were. He leaned over the side of the ship and watched in delight all of the creatures scrambling below him, looking like tiny, oddly shaped dots with some larger features. Then, to his surprise, one creature seemed much larger than the other dots and it stopped in front of the stairs and began climbing, Dr. Doppler nearly at the top, his suit slowing him down a bit. It had two bulky arms and three tentacles that hung above two large legs. From the top view of the creature making its way up, Jim was able to see two eyes that stood via two skinny muscles on the top of its head.

Jim was about to look away, afraid that one eye of the creature might catch on to his gazing, but then he noticed another creature trailing behind it. It was a young human girl. She was scrawny and had tight wavy, dark hair. She was wearing baggy clothing and had a small backpack on. He stared for another moment at the odd pair when he suddenly bumped into something soft.

Jim quickly turned around and began an apology: "Sorry about that! I didn't mean-"

He was interrupted by the creature through a combination of strange spitting sounds coming from various holes in the soft beige skin of its back. The slug-like thing looked angry as it balled its tentacles into fists and waved them in Jim's face. Jim stood there silently with his face in tight confusion and his light brown hair blown in different directions.

"Allow me to handle this," Delbert said firmly, finally making it to Jim's side.

Without warning, Dr. Doppler responded in the same fashion. Using his tongue and lips, he pushed his face together and made similar noises with this flying spit to add. Jim smiled at him, pretty impressed. He finally finished with his hand tucked under his armpit, making a muted, but high pitched, fart sound. The slug in front of them relaxed and responded with more sounds and what looked like to be a laugh.

"I'm fluent in Flatulent Jim! Took two years of it in high school," Delbert said proudly, knowing that impressing Jim was not an easy task. He walked off and saluted his new friend in flatulent.

"Flatulent? Cool," Jim spoke aloud and brushed back his hair.

Behind him, he heard the heavy footsteps of the creature he saw coming up the stairs, but decided not to stick around just in case he had been caught looking.

"Good morning captain! Everything ship-shape?" Delbert shouted hesitantly at a massive man made of angular grey rocks. His build was massive, and his booming voice certainly fit.

Jim appeared next to Delbert and watched him speak with the rock man covered in a bright red coat and a black hat.

"Ship-shape it is sir, but I am not the captain," he chuckled. "The captain's aloft," he smiled and pointed to the mast.

The three watched as a cat-like woman ran throughout the ship as if it was her own set of a childish jungle gym. She jumped from mast to mast and swung on dangling ropes while doing a series of complicated flips until she reached the deck and landed steadily on both feet without a single wrinkle in her long blue coat, or a scuff in her black boots that reached nearly the tops of her thighs, or even a knot in her short, straight, redish-light brown hair.

Both Jim and Delbert stayed silent for a moment, just taking in the startling act they saw. Delbert's jaw hung ajar and his eyes were glued to the feline until his opened helmet slammed shut in his face, making an abrupt noise and snapping him out of his trance. He quickly turned to Jim who looked to him at nearly the same time. Jim looked exasperated and unimpressed which made Delbert feel the need to imitate.

"Mr. Arrow," she began scolding the rock man without even looking at either Delbert or Jim. "I've checked this miserable ship from stem to stern and _as usual_… It's spot on. Can you get nothing wrong?" her angry voice transforming to a softer, more grateful tone.

"You flatter me captain," Mr. Arrow thanked with a smile and a tip of his hat while the captain winked in a playful manner.

She then walked over to Delbert with her shoulders back and arms formally placed behind her. She stopped nearly inches from his glass covered face and widened her curious eyes.

"Ah," she started, looking him up and down. "Dr. Doppler I presume."

Delbert looked away uncomfortably and began to stutter a greeting, but was cut off.

"Hello! Can you hear me?" she called in an arrogant tone and proceeded to knock on his helmet.

"Yes I can! Stop that banging!" he shouted while trying to yank the helmet off.

"If I may doctor, this works so much better when it's right way up and plugged in!" she stated while rudely grabbing Delbert's suit, spinning him around, and shoving the suit's plug into an outlet located on his back. Delbert yelped in surprise as she twisted him. "Lovely, there ya go!" she finished.

Delbert quickly removed the plug from his suit "If you don't mind, I can manage my own plugging!" he replied while angrily waving his plug in his hand.

The captain widely smiled and, ignoring his comment, took his shaking hand in hers "I'm Captain Amelia! Late of a few run-ins with the Protean armada. Nasty business, but I won't bore you with my scars," she introduced herself in length. "You've met my first officer Mr. Arrow," she moved on. "Sterling, tough, dependable, honest, brave, and true," she got out nearly all in one breath.

"Please captain," Mr. Arrow smiled bashfully.

"Oh, shut up Arrow, you know I don't mean a word of it," she quickly joked.

"I hate to interrupt this… lovely banter," Delbert jumped in, growing rather impatient. "But may I introduce to you Jim Hawkins?" Dr. Doppler pushed Jim slightly forward while Amelia raised her eyebrows and suddenly wore a more serious face. "Jim, you see, is the boy who found the treasure-"

"Doctor, please!" interrupted Amelia as she grabbed from underneath his jaw and gripped around it to prevent him from speaking any further and pulled his face closer to hers. Delbert, shocked by her forceful actions, let out a muffled yelp that resulted in a squished face, flying saliva, and spinning eyes.

The captain quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed. One giant with four arms and a red face carrying barrels turned around and deeply growled. His tiny eyes looked wild and his size was beyond terrifying. Amelia glared and he and his other friends walked away without looking back.

"I'd like a word with you in my stateroom," she said quietly as she released Delbert's jaw.

Jim and Dr. Doppler followed Captain Amelia in rushed footsteps as she darted to her quarters. Mr. Arrow walked casually by her side as she led them into the room. It was a spacious area with slanted windows on one wall and a large desk right in front of it; it's top covered with maps and navigating tools. Amelia quickly shut and locked the door behind her as she started speaking.

"Doctor," her voice becoming serious. "To muse and blabber about a treasure map in front of this particular crew demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic… and I mean that in a very caring way," she spoke in a snobby tone while walking over to Delbert.

"Imbecilic did you say?" Delbert replied insulted while Amelia looked down her nose at him. "Foolishness I've-" he began wagging his finger when the captain cut him off.

"May I see the map please?" choosing to ignore the doctor with her hand outstretched.

Delbert held down his furry and quickly looked at Jim. Jim's eyes were already on Delbert, irritated and confused. Both of them exchanged a series of shrugs and head shaking before Delbert finally gave in and waved his hand toward Amelia, signaling his suggestion to surrender the map.

Jim let out a deep breath and rolled his eyes before tossing her the map. He glared as he watched the ball travel between the two of them through the air. He didn't want to give up the map for fear that Amelia would trap it in her feline claws and never return it.

"Here," he mumbled as the captain caught it effortlessly.

She took her narrowed eyes off of the young boy and examined the map for a moment. Her green eyes widened nearly triple their normal size as she rolled the golden ball in her hand. Her curiosity made a grin grow across her face.

"Fascinating," she purred quietly.

Before continuing to speak, she unglued her eyes from the map and narrowed them back at Jim and then began to turn away and walk towards a large cabinet.

"Mr. Hawkins," she began as she opened the doors and placed the map inside of a locked box. "In the future, you will address me as captain or ma'am. Is that clear?" her voice icy.

Jim listened with his eyes wide in humiliation and irritation. At the end of her threatening sentence, Jim rolled his eyes and scoffed bitterly. Her stuck-up attitude was starting to penetrate a majority of his excitement.

"Mr. Hawkins?" Amelia challenged, looking back at him in his defensive stance.

"Yes ma'am," he reluctantly gave in angrily.

"That'll do," she accepted as she finally shut the doors and locked them. "Gentlemen, this must be kept under lock and key when not in use," Amelia further explained very business-like as she tucked the key underneath her large blue coat.

Settling that, she waltzed back up to Delbert with a smile dripping in sarcasm. "And doctor, again, with the greatest possible respect," her face changing into something irate and barely three inches from his. "Zip your howling screamer," she finished rudely.

"Captain, I can assure you, I-" Delbert tried to explain, but was, yet again, cut off.

"Let me make this as monosyllabic as possible," she sat down at her desk almost in a fashion of distress while Delbert threw his frustrated arms in the air.

"I don't much care for this crew _you_ hired," the captain reported at an offensively slow speed. Delbert rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips, knowing that trying to speak wasn't going to get him very far.

"They're… how did I describe them, Arrow? I said something rather good this morning before coffee," she turned to her first mate for help.

"'A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots' ma'am," Mr. Arrow recited, his facial expression disgusted.

"There you go! Poetry!" she turned back to the doctor smugly.

"Now, you see here," Delbert began as he furiously slammed his hands on her desk, but never got to finish his thought.

"Doctor, I'd love to chat- tea, cake, the whole shebang," she stood up calmly "but I have a ship to launch and you've got your outfit to buff up," she smiled arrogantly at the two of them.

Suddenly, she snapped back to attention, "Mr. Arrow, please escort these two neophytes down to the galley straight away. Young Hawkins will be working for our cook, Mr. Silver."

Jim, who was keeping busy with some of the captain's tools, had been ignoring most of the conversation once his map was taken away. Because withdrawing was his only known defense mechanism, he remained mostly silent. His interest in this entire voyage was dropping steeply and he wanted nothing more than to grab his solar surfer and ride through the scattered ruins of Montressor's junk yards for the rest of the day. Upon hearing his name, his attention was drawn back to Amelia.

"What? The cook?" he asked mortified.

Without another word, the two of them were lead to the galley by the large Mr. Arrow. Jim trudged behind with his eyes heavily shadowed and his arms crossed over his chest. Not sure which emotion was more prominent, Jim felt his face burning with embarrassment, fury, and disappointment. He came to the ship with the expectations of adventure and the opportunity to lead, but with each passing minute, he felt another wire snap inside of him. How was this going to help him prove anything to his mother? He thought back to his mother alone in the house and let out a sigh. He had to do this for her.

Suddenly, Jim's thoughts were marred when Delbert spoke as they walked down the stairs. "That woman! That… feline!" he struggled for the right word. "Who does she think is working for whom?" he firmly put his hands on his hips.

"It's _my_ map and she's got me bussin' tables?" Jim met Delbert at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll not tolerate a cross word about our captain!" shouted Mr. Arrow behind them, grasping their shoulders with his gigantic hands. Delbert looked even angrier while Jim rubbed his face in embarrassment. He didn't mean to get into trouble, but somehow he always found a way.

"There's no finer officer in this or _any_ galaxy," he finished and removed his cold hands.

As Mr. Arrow finished sticking up for Captain Amelia, the three of them heard cheerful whistling coming from the far end of the galley. They saw a dim light revealing an entire kitchen in the back where a silhouette of a wide figure was seen preparing some sort of food.

"Mr. Silver?" Mr. Arrow called into the room.

The figure turned its head in surprise and relaxed when seeing Mr. Arrow with two strangers.

"Why Mr. Arrow, sir?" he called back in a heavy, scratchy voice while cleaning off a blade. "Bringin' in such fine 'n distinguished gents to grace my humble galley," he spoke this time in a higher, more nasally voice as he stepped more closely into the light to reveal himself. "Had I known, I woulda tucked in me shirt!" he hoarsely laughed.

His skin was fleshy and heavily tanned. His hair was a dark brown, but was tucked beneath a red handkerchief. On his round face, he had a wide nose and had multiple chins that hid away his neck. His stomach was large and round and hung beneath a broad chest, covered in a stained, white shirt. This, however, was not what caught Jim's eye. This man was not just a man, but half machine as well. One of his massive arms was a metal contraption that moved almost naturally right down to each mechanical finger. On the same side, he had only one leg beneath the green and red stripped shorts. The other leg was replaced by a metal peg with a black rubber piece at the end. One of his eyes was also replaced with machinery. A golden orb rotated in his skull trying to gain focus on the two new men in front of him.

Jim studied him for a moment before coming to the startling conclusion. "Cyborg," he hissed beneath his breath, remembering everything that happened at home with Billy Bones.

"May I introduce Dr. Doppler? The financier of our voyage," Mr. Arrow stated kindly.

"Love the outfit Doc," Silver's voice returning to its deep, hoarse tone while his eye ejected a red laser onto the confused doctor's suit.

"Well, thank you. Um, love the eye," Delbert followed the laser all over his suit, becoming self conscious and hoping that it didn't have any x-ray powers. "Um, this young lad is Jim Hawkins," Delbert nearly threw Jim in Silver's direction, hoping to get the attention off of himself.

"Jimbo!" Silver exclaimed happily, extending his mechanical hand towards the lad, but quickly switched it when he realized he had the weapon setting held out to him, instead of the hand. Even after he made the adjustment and smiled, Jim glared at Silver and refused to shake his hand. His eyebrows rose with mistrust and suspicion.

Silver shrugged at his coldness, "Ah, now, don't be too put off by this hunk of hardware."

Silver walked off to the counter, clearly not bothered by Jim's disapproval, and started preparing food. He grabbed a handful of pink mollusks and cut them free with the blade attached to his arm. When they landed on the counter, he sliced open their shells and cut out the pink meat on the inside as he rhythmically tossed them into the pan. Then he pulled over a stack of vegetables and quickly chopped them and tossed the pieces into the pan in what seemed like one swift move until he hit his own fleshy hand.

"Whoa!" he yelled out and looked at his limp white sleeve. He smiled as he popped out his unscathed hand and looked at the three men, chuckling to himself.

He smoothly switched his blade to a three clawed tool and tossed three eggs into each claw, cracking them open behind his back and into the filling pan as he spoke. "These gears have been tough gettin' used to, but they do come in mighty handy from time to time."

When finished with that, he lifted the pan, replaced his tools for a flame blower, and placed the raw food-filled pan over the fire. He started humming to himself as he tossed the ingredients into a much larger pot. He then held onto two spice shakers and sprinkled the contents into the pot with his flesh hand and then grabbed a ladle to taste his work. He swirled the soup around in his mouth for a second before smiling at his audience. He put the ladle back into the steaming pot and took out two bowls for Delbert and Jim to try.

"Here, now, have a taste of me famous bonzabeast stew," he handed them the bowls proudly.

Delbert put his face up to the bowl and sniffed wildly. He was eager to try it, but decided to proceed with caution. He lightly stuck out his tongue and tasted the stew with just the tip. Suddenly smiling, "Mmmm! Delightfully tangy, yet robust."

"Old family recipe," Silver responded.

"Ahh!" Delbert shrieked as an eye ball sprung out of the depths of his soup.

"In fact," Silver walked over to Delbert, "That was part of the ol' family!" he burst out with obnoxious laughter while Delbert stared back at the soup and back at Silver with both horror and vexation on his face.

"Oh, I'm just kiddin' Doc," Silver calmed his laughing and plucked the eyeball from his stew and popped it into his mouth. "I'm nothin' if I ain't I kidder," he said merrily as he leaned over to Jim.

Jim never took his skeptical stare from Silver. Billy Bones' hushed speech played over and over again in his head. _Beware the cyborg._ No matter how bright Silver's smile was, Jim couldn't get himself to let his guard down.

Silver put his arm around Jim, "Go on Jimbo! Have a swig!" he encouraged as Jim examined the muddy stew.

Jim winced at Silver's touch, and watched him as he walked around him. Slowly switching his gaze back to the bowl, he raised one eye brow and anticipated finally swallowing it. He wasn't sure what to expect from this untrustworthy cyborg. He lifted his spoon filled with a lumpy, brown cross between liquid and solid. As he carefully moved his face in closer to smell the substance, he felt his spoon move slightly. Before his eyes, the cold spoon transformed into a pink, jelly face, first with just a mouth that ate his spoon full of stew, and then gained two big eyes.

Jim gasped and jumped back a bit as the spoon he once held was now floating in front of him in the form of a translucent, pink ball with excited eyes, a smiling mouth, and two tiny arms. The creature panted softly and stared at Jim jubilantly.

"Morph!" Silver shouted almost sternly as the creature turned into a red and white striped straw and helped itself to Jim's untouched stew. "You jiggle-headed blob of mischief! So that's where you was hidin'!"

Morph easily finished the contents of the bowl and dived into the empty bottom. When he slowly made his way to the top again, his eyes drooped lazily and his smile was peaceful. Then Morph burped surprisingly loud for such a small thing. His mouth hung slack for a moment as he looked up at Jim's shocked eyes. Jumping back with energy, Morph rose from the bowl and floated eye-level with Jim who stared curiously back.

"What," Jim began as Morph playfully rubbed himself on Jim's cheek. "Ha! What is that thing?" he nearly laughed.

"What is that thing?" Morph mocked just before Jim poked him. Just at his touch, Morph scattered his own jelly-like body and changed into a tiny replica of Jim. The real Jim held out his finger and let the copy of himself stand on his index finger.

"He's a morph. Rescued the little shape-shifter on Proteus," Silver explained as Jim examined Morph and Morph playfully mocked each movement.

Morph cooed and flew over to his companion, Silver. He gently rubbed up against his cheek and cooed even more while Silver closed his normal eye and nuzzled his head back against Morph. "He took a shine to me. We been together ever since," he said softly. "Right? Yeah, good boy," he spoke in soft baby talk as the two continued to cuddle.

Suddenly, Mr. Arrow's booming voice marred everything. "We're about to get underway. Would you like to observe the launch doctor?" he offered.

"Would I?" Delbert jumped in enthusiasm. "Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets?" he tried to joke, but, much to his embarrassment, no one responded. "I'll follow you," he gave up in a quiet voice.

Delbert and Mr. Arrow began to ascend the stairs with Jim following behind. Before Jim could take three full steps, Mr. Arrow held out his hand to stop him. "Mr. Hawkins will stay here in your charge, Mr. Silver."

Silver, who was checking up on his cooking, began to choke in shock and sputtered out "Beggin' your pardon sir, but-"

"Captain's orders!" Mr. Arrow sharply interrupted. See to it, the new cabin boy's kept busy," he added bitterly.

Both Silver and Jim stammered their protests in vain as the first mate walked out of the galley. When they figured their arguments were falling on deaf ears, they both simultaneously let out defeated sighs. They both looked to the ground and rubbed their foreheads in frustration. Silver didn't need to have some young boy following him around and Jim has known this cyborg for all of ten minutes and he already didn't trust him.

"So," Silver broke the silence. "Captain's put you with me, eh?" he concluded, both Jim and Silver circling each other.

"Whatever," Jim sighed, relaxing his icy stare for a second.

"Well, who be a humble cyborg to argue with a captain?" he added, turning his back to Jim so that he could go back to his cooking.

"Yeah," Jim said slowly, rubbing his face, thinking of what to say as he reached for a purple perp. "Ya know, these perps… they're kinda like the one's back home," he stared, tossing the fruit from one hand to the next. "on Montressor," he stressed. "You ever been there?" he inquired suspiciously.

"I can't says I have Jimbo," Silver kept his tone casual.

"Come to think of it," Jim took a bite and sat up on the counter, not buying his ignorance. "Just before I left, I met this old guy who was, uhm…" Jim pretended to really think hard about the memory that in actuality, burned in his head like a scorching animal brand. "He was kinda looking for a cyborg buddy of his," he continued to stare daggers into Silver's back.

"Is that so?" Silver questioned nonchalantly.

"Yeah, what was that old salamander's name…?" Jim pressed his hand to his head, pretending to be in deep thought. "Oh yeah. Bones. Billy Bones?"

"Bones? Booones?" Silver pretended to struggle with the name as he lifted a heavy pot filled with steaming water. "Ain't ringing any bells," he brushed off. "Must 'ave been a different cyborg. There's a _slew_ of cyborgs roamin' this port," he tried to reassure him.

As if on cue to break the harsh tension developing between the two, a shriek came from the top of the stairs. "Morph!" called a female voice.

Jim heard about three quick steps and then a jump. In the hallway in front of him, a young girl was slightly crouched on the floor. As she walked closer, he realized that it was the scrawny, dark-haired girl he saw earlier. He noticed that her feet were bare and covered in cuts and blisters. Just above her right foot, there was a gold ring that rested loosely around her ankle. Above that, she wore baggy, black pants that reached to the top of her calf and a white, baggy shirt that had sleeves rolled mid way on her arms. Her lips were chapped, her nose small, and her round, slightly downturned eyes a deep blue that heavily contrasted with her messy, tightly waved, black hair that hung just below her chin. Aside from her eyes, everything about her was tiny. She was a little on the short side with narrow shoulders and skinny limbs with baby feet and little hands.

"Where is he?" she spoke with a mischievous smile.

"Hey lass, what do ya want with me Morph?" asked Silver, turning towards her with his hands on his hips.

"Gotchya!" she yelled, ignoring Silver, and darted towards the giggling pink blob.

Morph raced away, but not before the girl's quick hands caught him.

"C'mon Morph, I caught you fair and square," she smirked, her voice a little on the lower side and with a slight rasp.

Morph just rose to her face, nuzzled her, and cooed.

"Now," she leaned back on one hip and extended her hand. "Where is my earring?"

"Where is my earring?" Morph mocked and transformed into her, but with more than necessary emphasis on her hips and chest. "Hey!" she shouted, swatting at him.

"Morph!" reprimanded Silver.

"Very funny Morph," she said sarcastically. "Now can you please show me where you put my earring? You're going to get me into trouble if you stall anymore," she said with a weak smile and her voice a bit softer, but her eyebrows narrowed as if angry.

Morph cooed again and transformed into the drawer just to the right of them.

"You little sneak," she said under her breath and smirked as she calmly walked to the drawer and searched for her earring.

"Jimbo, I'd like ya to meet Skye. Skye! Say hello to Jim. The lad'll be in me care for the trip," Silver introduced brightly.

"Hi Jim," she smiled and turned to Jim for a moment.

"Hi," Jim said back weakly.

She smiled and went back to digging through the drawer until she pulled out a bronze earring and pulled back her hair. Jim looked in shock when he saw three other studs in her ear and was searching for another hole at the bottom of her lobe to attach the hoop earring in her hand. Jim felt for his own single earring and thought about how strange it would be to feel three more. Morph cuddled up to Skye and giggled.

"Oh Morph," she said quietly and let out a throaty chuckle as she leaned into him.

"Skye!" a deep voice boomed from the deck, making both Jim and Skye jump.

"See Morph, getting me into trouble," she joked through clenched teeth, but with a smile.

"Go before ya get ol' Argus angry," Silver pushed.

"Shocking," she stated in deep sarcasm, rolling her eyes.

"Skye, you need to stop testing him," Silver teased.

Without another word, she quickly ran up the steps, Jim watching her the whole way.

Silver looked back at Jim and deeply chuckled. "Hey now lad, don't be messin' 'round with that lass."

"What?" Jim asked confused and almost offended.

"You heard me! Don't be lookin' fer any trouble," he warned.

"Wh- I wasn't- Ugh, whatever," Jim rolled his eyes. If there was one thing he was good at, it was getting into trouble. He certainly wasn't thinking of Skye in that way, in fact, he wasn't thinking about her much at all, but sure enough, if there was blame to be had, he caught it.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Jim's look covered in distain while Silver looked as if he hadn't noticed. Suddenly, their heads snapped up when they heard a loud, high pitched whistle come from outside.

"Prepare to cast off!" called Mr. Arrow to the crew.

"Eh, off with ya lad and watch the launch," Silver physically pushed Jim and hurried him out of the galley. "There'll be plenty work a-waitin' for ya afterwards," he lightly informed him.

Jim walked backwards for a moment and then turned around when he noticed Silver simply go back to cooking. His skepticism never ceased, but in all honesty, he really did want to watch the ship take off, whether he'd externally show it or not.

Silver took a peak over his shoulder to make sure Jim was gone. When he looked, he spotted the last of Jim's large black boots making their way up the steps. Now it was his turn to twist his face in curiosity, annoyance, and suspicion. He knew that boy was on to something; therefore Silver had to quickly come up with plenty of ideas to keep him busy.

Silver handed Morph a cracker and in a low, hoarse voice said, "We best be keepin' a sharp eye on this one, eh Morph? We wouldn't want 'im strayin' into things he shouldn't."


	2. Chapter 2

"We are all clear captain!" the tiny, many eyed lookout called down to Captain Amelia who was eagerly anticipating the takeoff of the _RLS Legacy_.

"Well my friend, are we ready to raise this creaking tub?" she asked Mr. Arrow excitedly.

"With pleasure captain," he sweetly responded. "All hands to station," he shouted to the racing crew.

Jim crept up from the galley and walked onto the deck. Slowly, a smile formed on his face as he allowed the commotion of the crew to strengthen his excitement. He spotted various creatures running and climbing to the sails. They shouted at each other with intense profanity and pushed passed one another without stopping. When Jim reached the top, he dodged multiple scurrying crew members and spun around to take in the sight of the ship preparing for takeoff.

"Loose all solar sails," Mr. Arrow directed over the roaring sound of the rushing team.

At that order, Jim spun around to get a breath taking view of the sails cutting through the intense beam of the star's rays from the late morning sky. He stood in the middle of the action, distracted and oblivious. As he dreamily walked backwards, he bumped into a short, lizard-like creature that was yanking on a rope to help the sails open up. He turned around and scowled at the dazed faced Jim.

"Heave up the braces," Jim heard Mr. Arrow shout over the noise.

Jim backed away from the angry crew member and chose to peer over the side of the ship as they slowly rose into the sky. The mere sensation made Jim's heart race with excitement. He continued to hear the shouts from the first hand and his crew, but now the new sound of the warming engine filled his ears. He ran from the side of the ship to watch the sails finally puff up with gathered wind. His smile tore at the corners of his mouth as he clouded his thoughts with the promises of adventure.

He slowly backed up again to get a better view and bumped into someone else. He heard a grunt and felt a small thud. He whipped behind him, getting ready to apologize, but stopped when he noticed who it was.

"Hey! You need to look where you're going Jim," Skye smirked from below him, more in a playful way than angry.

"I, uh, I was- I'm sorry," he stuttered and held out his hand to help her up.

Without even taking notice to his helpful gesture, she lifted herself from the ground, making Jim awkwardly pull his hand back "It's okay, just… be more aware," she laughed and was about to turn away, but was lifted instead.

Jim gasped as his entire body began to float and his pants and jacket puffed out around him. He clumsily waved his arms around, not entirely sure what to make of this occurrence. Next to him, he saw Skye suspended in the air, furiously tucking her baggy shirt into her pants. Her loose clothing was bubbled too and her short hair flittered around her heart-shaped face. She turned to him and began giggling at his ridiculous composure.

"Relax," she called to him. "They'll install the artificial gravity in a second."

Jim, feeling foolish and self conscious, stopped flailing. When the artificial gravity was turned on, Jim met the ground in a controlled crouch while Skye landed on her feet next to him. After they were both balanced, they glanced at each other and laughed.

"Take her away," the two of them heard Mr. Arrow shout.

Skye widened her eyes as Jim looked at her confused. Before either of them could do anything about it, they were jolted backward by the force of the ship's jets engaging in full throttle. The vigorous speed sent them both tumbling across the deck and into the back wall where the steering platform met the deck. When their momentum finally came to a stop, they collided into each other.

The two of them groaned for a second, clearly in pain, and then quickly untangled themselves in an awkward rush. Skye stood up first and clutched the top of her arm with her face in a grimace. Jim hobbled up as well and looked at his cut up palms.

"Ya know, you can get a much better view if you climb into those shrouds over there," she tilted her head toward the netting.

Jim's eyes brightened. "Really? Uh, thanks."

"No problem," she smiled weakly and ran off.

Jim excitedly darted to the shrouds. He fearlessly stood on the edge of the ship and climbed into the web of ropes. Once he had a tight grip with both hands and secure footing, he relaxed. He watched the spaceport rapidly become smaller as the ship increased in altitude. Eager to see more, he let go of one hand and one foot and leaned his body forward to feel the wind thrash his hair around him. He felt his thin braid in the back of his head whip the back of his neck. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he felt a fraction of what he anticipated freedom to feel like.

As they got higher, the sky became slightly darker, but cluttered with bright stars in every direction. Jim opened his eyes and placed his foot and hand back into the netting. Suddenly, he saw a gigantic creature lazily floating in front of him. Its body was massive and had a red and blue coloring with tiny flippers and beautiful eyes. An entire pack of them accompanied this one; all of them effortlessly flying through the vastness of the universe.

"Whoa," Jim exclaimed, his childhood feelings of curiosity coming back to him.

He quickly twisted his head to look above the ship as one floated nearly inches from the mainmast. It obliviously soared over the entire ship as if it were merely a trivial obstacle to avoid. Turning back, Jim looked at the creature in front of him and decided to catch up to its eye. He climbed across the shroud, looking it straight in the green and yellow eye with an amazed smile.

Dr. Doppler, too, found this to be a thrilling sight. From way up in the mizzenmast, he stared at the whale-like animal with eyes agog. He couldn't believe that a creature he has only had the pleasure of reading about or observing dead in museums, was floating nearly feet in front of him.

"Upon my word," he said almost tearful. "An Orcus Galacticus!"

He excitedly pressed a button on his suit and a camera snapped out and positioned itself in front of his face. Leaning over the side of his platform, he angled himself to get a good shot of the majestic animal. "Smile," he sang to one passing beneath him.

Captain Amelia who was nervously watching him warned, "Ah, Doctor! I'd stand clear-"

Before Delbert could take notice to her warning, a tidal wave of mucus sprung from the Orcus Galacticus' blow hole. Covered in snot, Delbert froze as the camera flashed in a delayed reaction. Amelia, still watching the doctor, chuckled to herself in soft amusement.

"Ah, 'tis a grand day fer sailin' captain," Amelia turned her head and narrowed her eyes at the nasally sound of Silver's voice. "and look at ya! You're as trim and as bonny as a sloop! With new sails and a fresh coat of paint," he prattled.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "You can keep that kind of flim- flammery for your spaceport floozies, Silver!"

Morph flew to the front of Silver and faced the captain as he mocked her. He took her form and dramatically swayed his newly formed hips back and forth, yelling "spaceport floozies, spaceport floozies." Silver, mortified, swung his hat onto Morph and trapped him.

"You cut me to the quick Captain! I speak nothin' but me heart at all times," he nervously covered.

"And, uh, by the way, isn't that _your_ cabin boy, aimlessly footling about in the shrouds?" she cut him off rather annoyed.

"Yep- oh," Silver looked over to see Jim peering into space excitedly. "A momentary aberration Cap'n, soon to be addressed," he continued to suck up to Captain Amelia.

His face suddenly became stern and he turned his body to face Jim. "Jimbo!" Jim turned his head around to Silver, but remained in the shrouds. "I've got two new friends I'd like ya to meet!" Jim eagerly looked around to see who he could possibly meet now, but his hope was yet again shattered when Silver threw him his two new pals. "Say hello to Mr. Mop and Mrs. Bucket!" he laughed in a sleazy rasp.

Amelia watched as Silver gave the new cabin boy a job. She smiled to herself in satisfaction and shot one to Silver as well. Then, climbing down from the mast and jumping down next to her, came Skye to bring her news.

"Hey Captain, I checked over the ship and it seems like everything is running smoothly," Skye spoke properly and monotone to Amelia.

"Very good," she said sternly and nodded.

Delbert joined to two on the platform, still covered in green mucus. As he approached, Skye stepped back and made a face of disgust while Amelia smirked.

"I can't believe I wasn't more careful," he sighed dramatically. "I read about the Orcus Galacticus a hundred times! You'd think I would remember-" suddenly he stopped speaking and widened his eyes when he saw Skye.

"I- I-I don't mean to be rude," he started "but I don't think I recall hiring a teenage girl to work on this ship."

Skye, looked him up and down with her mouth pressed in a hard line. She leaned back into one hip and crossed her arms. "Excuse me?"

Delbert was shocked to hear such a mature voice come from her. "It's just that, well, I, uh, I brought along with me a fiend- I mean friend- that happens to be a teenage boy and I-I-I just think that it might not be good for the two of you to be with each other a lot. Well, what I'm trying to say is-"

"No need to finish, I really don't want to hear it," she spat offended.

"Oh, no! I just don't want Jim to be distracted. You see, Jim really needs some character building and-" Delbert tried to defend himself.

"Ohhhh, we're talking about Jim?" she cut him off.

"Yes, that would be him," Delbert said nervously.

"Hey Jim!" she called obnoxiously, leaning over the railing.

Jim, catching on to the commotion after just getting down from the shrouds, looked up and saw Skye standing with the captain and Delbert. Nervous as to what was going on, he inched closer to them with the mop and bucket still in his hands. "Yeah?" he asked tentatively.

"Do you want to _bang_ me?" she asked sardonically and raised one eyebrow.

Delbert's jaw dropped and Jim's face went bright red and was unable to respond.

"Skye that is grossly inappropriate conversation," Amelia warned.

Ignoring the captain's comment, Skye smirked at Jim and said, "I'll take that as a no." Then she turned back around to Delbert who was utterly dumbfounded. "Looks like we don't have a problem here," she started calmly, but her anger slowly building. "Jim has a conscious just as much as I do. If anything happened, it would be just as much as his fault as mine. There is _no_ reason why I should have to tiptoe around this fucking ship to make sure I don't sexually attract your kid over there! It's not _my_ fault if he can't control himself! It better be _his_ ass that needs to be watched! Not. Mine."

"Skye, I want you to remove yourself from this situation immediately," Captain Amelia interjected before Skye could continue.

"Aye- aye Captain," she spat with fiery resentment and added a mocked salute. She took one more chance to glare at the doctor and stormed off.

"You are not to say another word to Skye, do I make myself clear?" Captain Amelia narrowed her eyes to Delbert.

"Uh- ye- I- Yes, of course," he stuttered.

"Get yourself cleaned up; you look ridiculous," she added, walking away.

Delbert look at Jim who was staring up at him. Jim's eyes were furious and his eyebrows tightly squeezed together. His hands were balled into fists (one still gripping the mop), and his face still bright red. Finally, shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Jim began mopping the deck.

Delbert sadly looked at Jim. He was only looking out for him, but wound up making things much worse. He cut his thoughts off when he remembered his gross appearance and slowly walked away with his suit clanking the whole way.

Jim didn't even bother looking back up at him. He was infuriated with Delbert and his constant blabbering mouth. Of course, not to his surprise, he was already getting into trouble. Barely an hour went by and he already lost his map, met the cyborg who may have burnt his house to the ground, and made an enemy. Jim angrily huffed and went back to his mopping. Since a child, Jim dreamed of nothing more than traveling through space and all of its obstacles to find the Flint's legendary treasure. Now it all seemed tainted and bleak- like he wasted years of his life fantasizing about a lie. The realization dawned on him that he was in for a long trip.


	3. Chapter 3

Jim continued to mop the deck long after the commotion of the takeoff was over. Most of the crew was now walking at their leisure, checking posts and running orders for the captain. Jim looked up at them enviously every once in a while. He felt embarrassed that out of everyone on this ship _he_ was doing the least exciting and most demanding job.

"Yeah, I've got your Mr. Mop," Jim mumbled under his breath sarcastically.

He thought back to Silver and how he couldn't get himself to trust him. Could he be the cyborg that Bones was talking about? The blood in Jim's veins raced as he thought of that fat cyborg burning down his home and his mother's restaurant.

His thoughts were suddenly impeded when he heard a tentative, low, slightly rasped voice.

"Hey," said Skye behind him.

Jim turned around at the sound of her voice. He hasn't seen her since her blow out earlier, and honestly, he was hoping to not see her for the rest of the trip. He had no idea, nor any accomplice to anything Delbert said earlier, so why was it _him_ that she had to embarrass?

He looked at her for a moment and then shook his head and turned back around to continue his labor. He kept his face in a scowl and kept his eyes on the ground, choosing to ignore her.

Skye sighed and walked around so that she could face him. "Look, I'm sorry," she blurted.

Jim stopped mopping for a second and thought about it, but never removed his eyes from the ground.

"It, uh, it wasn't, ya know, fair or anything for me to… uh… call you out like that before," she struggled with the words. "Your friend up there, he just- he just made me angry and it wasn't right for him to say those things, but it wasn't your fault that he said them, so… I'm- I'm sorry," she finally finished and awkwardly bit on her lip while she waited for Jim to respond.

Jim lifted his head and looked up at her. He knew she was sincere, but he still couldn't decide if he could let that go just yet. He kept his face in a hard scowl and looked crossly into her deep blue eyes.

"Would you just.. like… _say_ something?" she sighed and let her arms hang at her sides in desperation.

"It's fine," he finally responded and went back to mopping. He unwrinkled his face and spoke a little more gently than the attitude he was giving her.

"So, friends again?" she asked through the clenched teeth of her forced smile.

Jim looked up at her again and noticed that her hand was extended toward him as if asking for a truce.

"Friends," he agreed, but tensed when he shook her extended hand.

She smiled more brightly now and the maturity returned to her face.

A harsh, deep voice interrupted their make-up. "Skye, I need you right now," the voice making Skye jump slightly. She let go of his hand quickly and turned around to face a large creature that made Jim freeze. He stood on two thick legs that had four talons on both feet and one on the back of both. At his waist, there were three tentacles that hung several inches from the ground. Aside from the tentacles, he also had two muscular arms that sprouted from his shoulders and came to hands that had three long claws for fingers. His face was the most remarkable of his entire body. His mouth was in the shape of a thick proboscis with sharp teeth on the inside. On his head, he had five eyes- a round one in the center and two almond shaped eyes on both sides. Two more eyes stood on the top of his head like antennas making seven eyes in all. His overall appearance was tremendous and terrifying.

"What is it Argus?" Skye questioned.

"What does it matter? I told you I need you – that should be enough. Come over here and I'll tell you," he responded irately.

Skye grunted and rolled her eyes before running over to her gargantuan caretaker. When she got close enough, to Argus, he leaned his face to her ear and began whispering quickly. He pulled away to look at her to make sure she understood. She nodded and ran off to galley.

Jim watched her curiously as she disappeared down the steps and into the darkness of the room. When he could no longer see the top of her head, he turned his head back to mopping, but froze mid-way when he noticed Argus staring at him with all seven eyes. His talons rapped against the wood of the deck, making Jim's spine want to shiver, but he held it down, not wanting to show his fear.

Even after making complete eye contact with Argus, he still kept all of his eyes fixed on him. Jim held his gaze for a moment and narrowed them in suspicion, but Argus never backed down. Eventually deciding to end the silent competition, Jim looked down and started slowly mopping. In the corner of his eye, he could still see Argus continuing to look at him; the gaze seemed to smolder his skin.

"Keep cleaning cabin boy," Argus finally growled before walking off.

Jim whipped his head around and was about to bitterly respond, but before he uttered more than a syllable, he saw that Argus was already too far for him to hear. Jim crossly and slowly turned back to his mopping, while keeping his attention on the giant walking away from him. The back of his throat burned with the resentment that never made its way past his lips.

Now with his mouth in a hard line and his eyebrows tightly squeezed together, he took out his fury on the mop. He slammed the wet bunch of bristles onto the deck and harshly scrubber. What gave that monster any right to talk down to him? If it weren't for him, there would be no voyage and he was still being stepped on. Everyone on this ship was treating him like an insignificant child, yet he was pretty sure he held more intelligence at the age of eight than most of these crew members will ever have. The mere thought of their constant disrespect was infuriating him.

Thinking back on all accounts, he thought of Skye. What had Delbert even said to make her so angry and to ask such an embarrassing question? Jim's face went red at the thought of every possible scenario and wondered to himself if he could ever face her the same way. Suddenly thinking back to her apology, he realized that she called them "friends". That word rested uneasily with him – he hardly considered them friends – yet she was the only one on the entire ship who tried to make up for her attitude with him.

Jim let out an exasperated huff and continued doing what he was told. The deck was vast; it would take hours for him to finish before that cyborg would be satisfied with his work. Getting himself all worked up again, he tightened his face muscles and mopped with the same vigor as before.

"Yeah, I've got your Mr. Mop," he repeated to himself with even more attitude.

In the mist of his mumbling, he felt the ground shake in sync with the steps of a monster larger than Argus. As he passed Jim, he violently shoved him out of the way with one of his four bulging arms. Jim gasped in response and fell up against the wall of the ship.

"Watch it twerp," he growled in a deep, guttural voice and balled his hands into fists.

Jim watched angrily as the giant stomped off. When he turned his head, he noticed a small group of crew members excitedly speaking in hushed voices amongst themselves. He curiously stared at them for a moment, wondering why everyone on this ship was so secretive.

Suddenly, one of the crew members caught Jim peering over and smacked the others in a warning. They cut their conversation short and all looked at Jim through eyes that narrowed in suspicion. Jim, feeling slightly embarrassed, went back to his mopping.

"What are you lookin' at weirdo?" one crew member challenged and crossed his arm.

To Jim's horror, the crew member's head lifted off of its body to reveal two separate creatures. The head crawled on multiple legs and rested on a barrel while the larger, pink body lowered its arms to reveal a face placed in the middle of its abdomen.

"Yeah, wei'do," he chimed in with a high, nasally voice.

Jim stared for a moment, baring his teeth through a curled lip in a mixture of disgust and vexation. In an attempt to come up with a snarky response, he raised one eyebrow, but before he could speak, he heard a loud and drawn out hiss behind him.

The sound sent shivers from Jim's toes to the back of his neck. He quickly spun around and saw two gigantic yellow eyes crawling down the shrouds and looking directly at him. These piercing orbs were attached to a large, black two-pieced body with three long legs sprouting from either side of the abdomen. The front part of its body stood more upright and had two huge, red claws that acted like arms. Its face seemed overpowered by the two smoldering eyes, yet the mouth was just as terrifying. Two sharp fangs protruded from the front of its face and over the mouth which didn't have any skin to hide the teeth or jaw bone.

When the spider-like creature finally made it to the deck, he spoke to Jim in a deep hiss that seemed to roll from within his throat like marbles. "Cabin boys should learn to mind their own business," he warned.

Jim looked at him nervously for a moment with his wide, light blue eyes. Looking around, he noticed Skye walking up from the galley. Her eyebrows were pressed in a hard line while her eyes were glued to the ground as she muttered to herself, obviously deep in thought. When she reached the top of the steps, she looked up for a second and completely relaxed her face when her glance met Jim's. She smiled and raised her arm to wave, but her hand never made the cheery motion. Instead, she took in the situation and stared cautiously.

Jim noticed the change in her face and smirked back up at the spider creature. Why was Skye so worried? What was _he_ afraid of anyway?

"Why, you got something to hide bright eyes?" he said back flippantly with his eyes narrowed and his smile wicked.

To Jim's surprise, his aggressor darted his claw to his shirt and hoisted him into the air and level with his face. His legs thrashed below him while he struggled to get down. His embarrassment and anger welled up inside of him. This wasn't over.

"Maybe your ears don't work so well," he hissed in Jim's face.

Jim quickly whipped his head to the side and wrinkled his nose. "Yeah," he sarcastically grunted. "Too bad my nose works just fine," he added angrily.

"Why you impudent little–" he growled.

Jim realized the trouble he got himself into and nervously threw his body around to get down, but before he could, he felt himself being jolted backward slammed into a pole. He winced at the shock and pain of the spontaneous violent response.

He continued to kick his legs and twist his body, but nothing could free him. He heard a crowd forming below him, all shouting encouragement for a fight to break out with most – if not everyone – cheering for the yellow-eyed monster.

"Hey!" Jim opened his eyes for a moment to hear a voice louder than the crowd.

His opponent grunted and turned his head to see Skye standing next to him with her arms crossed and her dark blue eyes condensed to angry slits. The crowd quieted down to whispers once they noticed her presence. Jim stopped moving and looked at her, subconsciously baring his teeth in fear for her.

"What?" the spider-thing spat.

"Put. Him. Down," she said dangerously through clenched teeth.

He simply snickered and turned his head back to Jim "Where were we?" he asked raising his other claw to Jim's neck while Jim kept his eyes wide with terror and watchful on every movement of that blood-red claw.

"Hey! I was talking to you," she shouted, her voice becoming even hoarser. She uncrossed her arms and furiously punched one of his long legs with her tiny fist.

He stumbled at the small force of impact, but never dropped Jim. The crowd's enthusiasm picked back up in volume as the creature spun around and glared at Skye. She looked back up at him with wild eyes and fury burning in her reddening face.

He started laughing at her and soon, the entire crowd did the same. Skye never took her eyes off of his ugly face, but at the sound of laughter, she balled her fists at her sides and pressed her lips in a tight line. "This _scrawny little girl_ thinks she can take me on," he sang in hissing snickers.

"Test me," she spat through her clenched teeth.

He let out another obnoxious laugh and turned back to Jim. Skye's body shook with rage. Without thinking, she pulled her arm back to take another hit, but before she could, his claw swung at her hip and sent her tumbling across the deck.

The crowd roared with excitement as the colossal spider snarled in rage and then smiled in satisfaction as he watched Skye roll away. Jim shouted at him in anger and kicked his leg up at his jaw, causing his opponent to screech out in pain and direct his attention back to the squirming human. "Leave her alone!" Jim shouted in her defense.

When Skye finally stopped skidding across the deck, she quickly shot up and started running toward the fight scene. Before she could make it even half way there, she was grabbed around the waist by one of Argus's tentacles.

"That's enough Skye," he ordered.

"You fucking moron!" she shouted at the monster who hit her. "You come back here and fight me! You're an asshole!" Her voice screeched and cracked from the normal rasp in her voice.

"Calm down," Argus shook her.

Skye continued to twist and scratch at Argus's tentacle like some sort of caged animal. Her angular face was contorted with rage and a snarling lip. "Let go!" she screamed back at Argus who looked at her angrily. He covered her mouth with another tentacle and dragged her into the galley despite Skye's rough struggle.

"Slice him, dice him!" Jim heard one of the crew members shout over the crowd's energized commotion.

"Any last words, cabin boy?" Jim felt the claw inch its way back up to his exposed neck. He swallowed hard and, with a thumping heart, anticipated what was to happen next.

Suddenly, to Jim's relief, his claw was torn away, just nearly missing his neck while the creature's entire body jerked with it. The crowd collectively sighed and quieted down at the sight of Silver.

"Mr. Scroop," he said calmly while biting into a purp.

Jim stopped struggling and looked down at Silver. His cybernetic hand was clutched tightly around Scroop's claw while he winced slightly in pain.

"You ever see what happens to a fresh purp," he continued. "When ya squeeze _real_ hard?" he finished while twisting his arm in an excruciatingly painful way, making the spider-like crew member squeal.

The crowd "ooed" at the phantom pain of his injury. Scroop released Jim and he fell to the ground on his knees and hands and pushed to get up.

"What's all this then?" came Mr. Arrow's firm voice.

The first-mate marched down the stairs and whipped his eyes back and forth to scan the scene. His face was annoyed and serious as he made his way to the crowd of both bystanders and fighters. Jim wobbly got up, but kept his eyes on the ground as Mr. Arrow passed by.

"You know the rules! There will be no brawling on this ship," he walked by a line of crew members, staring each of them down. "Any further offenders will be confined to the brig for the remainder of the voyage." Mr. Arrow stopped in front of Scroop and leaned into his face, "Am I clear Mr. Scroop?"

Scroop's bug eyes narrowed in anger and his voice began to snarl, but he caught a red glare in his eye. Temporarily distracted, he looked over at Silver whose mechanical eye was the source of the fiery glare. Silently, he warned him to keep his attitude in check.

"Transparently," Scroop reluctantly backed down.

Mr. Arrow held his gaze for a moment before walking away slowly, making sure to keep his chin raised in authority. Scroop glowered behind him and quietly hissed in anger. _I'll show that lumpy boulder_ he thought to himself vengefully.

The crowd of crew members noisily dispersed as Mr. Arrow continued to walk away. Jim stayed put, rubbing his head while Silver shouted after the first-mate. "Well done Mr. Arrow, sir! A tight ship's a happy ship, sir!" he saluted him in the end.

After the crowd had cleared out completely, it was just Silver and Jim left on the deck. Silver swiped up the mop that was tossed to the ground and walked over, swinging shoulders, to reprimand his rebellious cabin boy.

"Jimbo, I gave you a job," he reminded him, pointing to the mop bitterly.

"Hey! I was doing it until that _bug thing_ – " Jim started, throwing his hands in the air defensively.

"Belay that!" Silver shouted over him in irritation while Jim glared and stood in an aggressive stance. "Now," he continued and slammed the end of the mop into his other hand and gave it to Jim. "I want this deck swabbed spotless and heaven help you if I come back and it's not done," he threatened with his meaty finger pointing in Jim's pouted face.

Then, Silver came up with an idea. "Morph?" he called and the pink, jelly creature floated over to his owner. "Keep an eye on this pup and let me know if there will be anymore distractions," he finished looking right at Jim before storming off.

Morph jittered and agreed to fulfill the task. Jim loudly sighed and began slowly mopping while Morph buzzed around the top of his head and enlarged his eyes. Jim raised one thick eyebrow with an exasperated look on his face as Morph continued to circle him, making various high-pitched noises the whole time.

Silver, finally able to keep Jim out of trouble, descended the stairs into the galley. As he continued down, he heard the soft prattle of his loyal crew members. To anyone's surprise, the galley held more secrets than darkness.

Silver finally entered the door way with a gentle smile. "So, we're all here then," he began softly.

"Excuse me," one small crew member said before taking a seat next to Silver.

"Fine," he responded softly.

The crew members watched Silver carefully as he strolled through the aisles of tables with his hands behind his back, and his voice so soft, it was almost inaudible. "Now.. if ya pardon my plain speaking gentlemen, are you all –" suddenly, the calmness of his voice vanished and the sharp swipe of a sword cut through the air on his mechanical hand. "stark-raving, totally blinking daft?" he shouted at them, frustrated.

All of the crew members jumped back in shock as Silver waved around his sword. They shied away from his wrath, none of them having the audacity to speak. Even the biggest member with the four muscular arms, capable of taking Silver out in a second, kept his mouth shut and his hands folded above trembling feet.

"After all me finagling getting us hired as an upstanding crew, you want to blow the whole mutiny before its time?" he angrily challenged them all.

"Don't roll yer eyes at me lass," Silver spoke to Skye who sat alone on a barrel in a corner with her back hunched and her arms crossed over her chest and rested on her knees.

"Relax," was her only response as she stared at Silver through the tangles of her short, dark hair.

"You are the _last_ person I want to have trouble from. If it weren't fer the fact that Argus and I are as thick as thieves, _you_ wouldn't even be on this trip. You causin' a scene all by yerself – "

"Well, if big claws over there wasn't so proud of himself –" Skye began to justify herself in a low voice.

"Skye, not _another_ word," Argus cut her off while he rapped his talons on the wood of the floor.

"The boy was sniffing about," Scroop jumped in.

"Alright, enough ya heat seeking bums," Silver ended the argument and turned to Scroop. "You just stick to the plan, you bug-brained twit! As for the boy," his voice calmed. "I'll run him so ragged, he won't have time to think," he smiled to himself.

As the hours went by, Jim was still mopping the deck, just as he had been told to. At this time, the sky was dark, but illuminated with countless stars, allowing for limited sight. Jim was just finishing up when Morph, being a replica of the mop at the moment, swept over his boots. He floated up to Jim's face, which was resting on the stick of the mop, and burped, causing bubbles to come from his mouth. Morph giggled and covered his mouth, managing to make Jim smile.

"Well this has been a fun day, huh?" Jim asked sarcastically, putting his hands on his hips and pretending to contemplate the good fortune of his day. "Making new friends, like that spider psycho," Jim wrinkled his face and wiggled his fingers at Morph.

Morph giggled and transformed into Scroop with his claws hanging above his head in an overly dramatic way. "Spider psycho, spider psycho," Morph chanted as he jumped towards Jim.

The imitation made Jim chuckle, so he added, "a little uglier."

Morph could not disappoint. Suddenly, Little Scroop's face began to twist and grow larger than its body. The eyes became uneven and rolled in different patterns while his grey hair stood on end. He then widened his jaw and laughed maniacally as if coming from a Boris Karloff movie.

"Pretty close," Jim smiled and nodded his head.

"Well," Silver interrupted their goofing off while walking onto the deck with a pot full of food scraps. "Thank heaven fer little miracles. Up here fer an hour an' the deck's still in one piece," he continued as he dumped the contents of the pot overboard.

Jim kept his head down and pretended to still mop before finally speaking. "Look, I, uh…" he fought with his tongue to find the right words. "What you did," he looked up from the ground and at Silver. "Thanks," he finished with a meek smile.

Silver looked over at him with wide eyes and in a defeated breath, asked, "Didn't yer pop ever teach ya to pick yer fights a little more carefully?"

Jim's features instantly darkened and he turned his head back to the ground and mopped the already clean deck. The shadows on his face became more definite than the lines of his mouth which were tightly pressed together. The silence radiated from Jim and engulfed the atmosphere in a thick fog of resentment.

Silver instantly felt the coldness and decided to inquire why he became so sullen. "Your father's not the teachin' sort?" he asked carefully.

"No," Jim spat, making Silver internally jump. Jim continued to re-mop the deck and turn his back to Silver. "He was more of the taking off and never coming back sort," he answered darkly with his voice low and slightly breathy. His words and movements alone were enough to explain the untold story of his past. To Silver and Jim alike, that _was_ the story.

"Oh," Silver drew out as he slowly walked over to Jim who was brooding over the side of the ship. "Sorry lad," he said as he leaned on the side, next to Jim.

"Hey, no big deal," the words felt as if they were pressed and stood in front of something else. "I'm doing just fine," he said, closing his eyes and putting down the mop. He looked away from Silver and lost himself in his thoughts and memories of his childhood, wishing that he could only remember the good.

Silver allowed the silence to settle for a moment while he searched his mind for the right thing to say. Rubbing his chin, he broke the silence with "Is that so?" He then turned his head toward Jim and proceeded to smile while Jim kept his eyes in the far distance. "Well, since the captain has put you in my charge, like it or not," Silver becoming more and more animated, causing Jim to look up at him and his sudden excitement. "I'll be poundin' a few skills into that thick head of yours to keep ya outta trouble," Silver poked Jim on the forehead.

Jim swatted his fingers away. "What?" he spat in disbelief.

"From now on, I'm not lettin' you outta me sight!" Silver nearly laughed with his hands on his chubby hips.

"You can't do –" Jim began to protest.

Silver held up his cyborg hand and counted off. "You won't so much as eat, sleep, or scratch your bum," he finished by slamming his fist on the wooden side of the ship, "without my say-so."

"Don't do me any favors!" Jim's voice cracked due to his frustration. He balled his fists at his side and pouted his lip.

"Oh, you can be sure of that my lad," Silver wrapped his arm around Jim and patted his chest. Jim opened his mouth to tell him to back off, but no such sound made its way past his lips. "You can be sure of that," he laughed.

Jim grunted and rolled his eyes before shrugging off Silver's heavy arm and marching away. Even as he put more distance between the two of them, he could hear Silver still cruelly hackling.

"Oh, lad!" Silver called to him, nearly out of breath. "I wouldn't stay out too late! You've gotta long day ahead of ya!"

Jim just ignored him and stormed off to the front of the ship. He just wanted a moment to clear his racing head. The thoughts of his abandoning father and the rage he felt for the cyborg began to mesh together and add to the storm of emotions he felt earlier today. He felt his bottom lip quiver slightly, so he wiped it with the sleeve of his black jacket to prevent the spill of emotion.

No matter who he turned to on this ship, he was being stepped on. No matter where he put himself, he was finding trouble one way or another. The constant battle was nauseating and defeating. Jim released a sigh, like a volcano releases smoke and relaxed his tense shoulders. His fury was never easy to control, but the instantaneous and continuous disrespect wasn't helping anything. His breath began to quicken again as he still kept going forward until he nearly tripped over something.

"Hey, didn't I tell you before to watch where you're going?" came a laughing voice below him.

Jim jumped back and looked down to see Skye sitting on the ground, smiling at him with her dark blue eyes.

"Oh, sorry," Jim said darkly and started to walk past her.

"Wait!" she called after him, but didn't bother getting up.

"Yeah?" Jim turned around and asked with his eyes hooded in annoyance.

"Uh.. well… How are you? Ya know, after… everything today?" she asked gently with the sincerity of concern on her face.

Jim stopped and looked at the bruise forming at the top of her cheekbone.

"Uh," Jim quickly looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm alright… what about you? I mean, you took a pretty good hit there… and thanks, by the way," he finished, shyly looking at her.

"Don't mention it," she shrugged, "and you're welcome," she smiled.

Jim smiled back, grateful to remember her kindness.

"So, what are you doing out here? Silver still has you working?" she asked.

"No, I, uh, I just.. um… I just needed some space to think and—" he stuttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrupt you or anything," she interrupted with her apology.

"No, no, it's fine," he waved his hands gently in front of him.

"Do you want to sit down?" she offered smoothly.

Jim contemplated for a second. "Sure," he shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. He walked over to Skye who had a weak smile on her lips, but a bright one in her eyes. He placed himself a couple of inches from her crossed legs and hugged his to his chest. Jim glanced back at Skye and saw that the bruise on her face was even more purple closer up.

Skye seemed to notice where his glance fell and clutched her cheek and looked away. "Would you stop staring at my bruise?" she chuckled.

"I – I'm sorry, I didn't realize how – how hard he hit you," Jim's voice trailed off in guilt.

"It's nothing, really. I'm fine… and it's not your fault," she reassured him.

"That's not even where he hit you," Jim suddenly remembered and the guilt not resting.

"Trust me, you don't even want to see that one," she winced as she touched her hip.

"That's all my fault… I really am sorry," he apologized.

"Dude, relax, okay?" she laughed. "It's really not your fault. I _chose_ to do what I did," she smiled and rolled her eyes. She brushed her wavy dark hair in front of her cheek as best as she could with the short strands. "Just… stay out of trouble, alright?" she nudged him lightly.

Jim chuckled and relaxed himself a little bit. He straightened one leg and kept the other one bent and rested both arms and his head on that one knee. He continued to smile slightly and looked up into the sky.

"So, why do you need a place to think so badly," she inquired.

"I just got myself… kind of… angry. I mean, everywhere I go… I just – I just get myself into trouble," his smile fading into a more serious look.

"You sure do," Skye snorted.

Jim glared back at her.

"Come on man, what?" she laughed in disbelief at his anger towards her. "I yelled at you earlier today, from what I hear, you and your friend got into some kind of trouble with Amelia and Arrow. _Then_ you get into a fight with Scroop and I just heard the argument you had with Silver back there. You really _are_ a trouble magnet," she pushed him a little harder this time.

Jim pushed his eyebrows inward and smirked. "Yeah, and what about you? You got pretty angry before. You get wild when you're angry," he pushed her back just as hard.

She rocked to his force and laughed. "And don't you for_get it_," she pushed him back.

"And what's with the cursing?" he chuckled.

"What?" her hoarse voice cracked and her eyes rolled back.

"Yeah, you do," Jim reported playfully.

"Look, just don't mess with me when I'm angry. What can I say?" she shrugged and giggled.

Jim laughed and leaned back with both arms bent behind him. "What are _you_ doing out here anyway?" he asked.

"I – I don't know… I just like looking at the stars," her voice becoming dreamy. "You know, I've been traveling through the universe for a long time and the stars still captivate me," she spoke with passion in her voice.

Jim looked at her and seemed surprised by the sudden mood change. "Yeah?" he asked. "How long have you been doing this?"

Skye was caught off-guard by his question. She looked down and repeated "a long time," in a low voice. "Uh, by the way," she said shaking her head. "I overheard about your father," she bit her lip and stared at Jim softly. "I'm… really sorry about that," she comforted him.

Jim lowered his head and pressed his eyebrows into an angry position, looking away from her.

"I'm sorry," she lowered her voice to a whisper. "I just didn't think it would be right for me to know that without you being aware that I know. You have a right to that," her voice soothing.

"It's no big deal," Jim responded, his voice dark again.

"Ancient civilizations all over the universe have unique stories in regard to these stars… Myths and poems… It's so interesting, don't you think?" she diverted his attention.

"Really?" he asked looking back up at the swarm of stars, remembering some mention of this in his high school classes.

"Interesting, isn't it?" she looked at Jim, smiling tiredly.

"Yeah, it is," he said smiling back up at her.

"Skye!"

The abrupt, harsh voice made Skye's eyes widen for a second with terror. Jim looked into them and felt her fear. Argus's voice was almost as horrifying as his appearance.

Skye quickly turned around and stood up. "I was just –"

"I don't want to hear it. Bed. Now."

Skye rolled her eyes and grumbled, but turned to leave.

"I'll see you in the morning Jim," she said tenderly and smiled at him while he sat in the same spot.

"Goodnight Skye," Jim said shyly and making sure not to make eye contact with any of Argus's seven eyes.

Her smile weakened into something a little sweeter and walked away while Argus still stared at Jim. Jim held his gaze with a beating heart and raised his chin in a nervy gesture toward the giant. Argus stared back and then glanced at Skye who was still walking away. When he turned back, Jim was already staring back at the stars. Argus internally smiled at the thought of a new plan to run by Silver as soon as he could.


End file.
